Woman fails to appear for sentencing, arrest warrant issued

A bench warrant was issued Tuesday morning for the arrest of Lisa Williams after she failed to appear for a sentencing hearing in District Court.

It was the second time Williams failed to appear for sentencing on a burglary conviction that was handed down in September.

Additionally, Williams previously showed up three hours late for a court appearance, according to Deputy District Attorney Alex Lowe.

District Court Judge Gregory Lyman issued the felony arrest warrant when Williams failed to appear alongside attorney Brian Schowalter Tuesday morning, with Schowalter indicating that he had not spoken to Williams.

Lyman declined to issue a bench warrant when Williams previously failed to appear due to a pending misdemeanor warrant.

Williams was convicted of second-degree burglary of a dwelling and theft during a two-day trial in September that concluded with 21 minutes of deliberation, according to Lowe and Det. Brandon Bishop with the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office.

The conviction stemmed from a December 2011 incident in which 12 guns, electronics and a large amount of jewelry, totaling nearly $20,000, were stolen from a home located along U.S. 151 in Arboles.

At about 7 p.m. on Dec. 20, the burglary of the home was reported to Bishop. In the process of investigating the burglary, Bishop said he made contact with a confidential informant.

That informant reported to Bishop that a woman wanted to talk to him because she had property belonging to a man, Lambert Gachupin, at her house.

According to Det. Lando Garcia in a previous interview, the woman said Gachupin was storing property at her house, but that she was unaware of what the property was until she heard the informant discussing the burglary.

After hearing of the burglary, the woman looked at the property, which was reportedly stored under a blanket in her cellar, and discovered 12 guns.

Bishop and Garcia responded to the scene, where the 12 guns and two iPods taken in the burglary were recovered.

A search warrant was later executed on Williams’ home, where some jewelry and electronics were recovered, Bishop reported.

In the process of investigating the matter, other individuals stepped forward with information, Garcia reported at the time, including Williams, who reported that she had stayed at the burglarized home in Arboles for several days with a friend prior to the incident.

While there, Williams reported that Gachupin, her boyfriend at the time, had visited the house and “checked the house out,” Garcia said.

Later, Gachupin reportedly told Williams he was going to rob the house and needed a ride.

Garcia said the pair received a ride from another female to the home in order to burglarize it.

All stolen items but one ring were recovered, Bishop said.

“It was a good case,” Bishop said. “It’s not too often all the property gets returned.”

Gachupin was sentenced to seven years in the Colorado Department of Corrections in March after pleading, “Guilty as sin.”